Ignacio Escalante Meza

Ignacio Escalante Meza is an Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences at UIC. His lab studies arthropod behavior through ecology and evolution lenses, examining decision-making, communication, and biomechanics in arachnids/insects across tropical and temperate ecosystems.

Education includes a PhD from UC Berkeley, MS from Universidad de Costa Rica, and BS from Universidad de Costa Rica. Research sites include Costa Rican forests, Wisconsin wetlands, and Chicago urban areas.

Publications explore leg-loss impacts on locomotion, chemical communication in multi-species aggregations, and vibrational signaling. Fieldwork integrates bioacoustics and physiology.

Students:

• Sage DeLong (MS): Antipredator behaviors in Opiliones
• Marilia Freire (Postdoc): Chemical ecology
• Noah Skelly (MS): Arthropod behavior evolution

Grants include National Geographic funding for Neotropical Opiliones research. Outreach engages communities in arachnid conservation.